Common Sunflower

The common sunflower is a large annual plant in the daisy family, native to North America, whose domesticated form is grown for its edible seeds, harvested either as oil seed or confectionery seed. Oilseed sunflowers are grown worldwide and yield the fourth most used vegetable oil globally, and the seeds are also widely used as bird feed and livestock feed, while confectionery seeds are eaten as a snack or used in baking; horticultural varieties are grown ornamentally in gardens. Wild plants typically bear multiple flower heads, while the domesticated sunflower usually produces a single large flower head atop an unbranched stem.